Coatings and paints are routinely used to beautify and protect substrates. The most simple coatings and paints are made of a polymer (the binder) in a solvent (the vehicle), which is commonly called a lacquer. Coatings and paints can modify the appearance of a substrate by adding color, gloss, or texture, and by blending with or differentiating from a surrounding environment. For example, a substrate surface that is highly light scattering can be made glossy by the application of a coating that has additives that result in a high gloss effect. Conversely, a glossy substrate surface can be made to appear flat by additives. Thus, the surface of the substrate can be hidden, altered, and ultimately changed in some manner by the presence of the coating. In addition, coatings may also protect the substrate from the surrounding elements and prevent or reduce corrosion of the substrate.
Paints and coatings, while protecting the substrate from the environment, can themselves become covered and contaminated with unwanted substances over time. The appearance of the coated surface of the substrate can often change in undesirable ways. Dirt, for example, can dull the coating by increasing light scattering or by modifying the color component of the coating. Dirt can also affect the coating's durability. It can often be expensive to clean the coated substrate, and detergents, surfactants, fragrances, alkali, lime, and/or other chemicals used to clean the coated substrate can make their way into the environment where they can potentially cause great damage. A hydrophilic surface allows water to spread out in a thin layer, thus sweeping dirt off the surface as the water thins out and trickles away. Thus, it is desirable to have a coating with a hydrophilic surface that keeps dirt from sticking to the surface, is self-cleaning, and which eliminates the need for environmental un-friendly chemicals.